1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to electrode catalysts for a fuel cell, methods of preparing the same, and membrane electrode assemblies including the electrode catalysts, as well as fuel cells including the membrane electrode assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to types of electrolyte and fuel, a fuel cell can be categorized as a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), or the like.
Typically, a PEMFC and a DMFC each include a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) that includes an anode, a cathode, and a polymer electrolyte membrane interposed between the anode and the cathode. The anode includes a catalyst layer for promoting oxidation of a fuel and the cathode includes a catalyst layer for promoting reduction of an oxidizing agent.
In general, as a component of the anode and the cathode, a catalyst including platinum (Pt) as an active element is used. However, the Pt-based catalyst is an expensive precious metal and the demand is still high for Pt for use in electrode catalysts in manufacturing a commercially available fuel cell on a large scale and thus a decrease in system costs is needed. Accordingly, there is a need to develop an electrode catalyst that reduces the amount of Pt and provides excellent battery performance.